Can McLaren’s culture survive two number one drivers in F1?

Formula 1’s modern era is littered with examples of front-running teams paying a big price for sticking with two equal drivers.

As recently as 2007, when McLaren fielded then-reigning world champion Fernando Alonso and rookie Lewis Hamilton, infighting saw both drivers miss out on the title by a single point as Kimi Raikkonen snatched the crown with Ferrari.

Other notorious rivalries such as Senna/Prost (McLaren), Hamilton/Rosberg (Mercedes) and Webber/Vettel (Red Bull) had less of an impact on the end result, as they took place in an era of dominance for their respective teams.

Through various scenarios, however, they still led to the teams becoming destabilised and the driver pairings eventually being broken up.

But while history would suggest having two numbers drivers fails to work out more often than it succeeds, McLaren CEO Zak Brown maintains things will be different with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Both drivers have clinched their maiden grand prix wins before the 2024 summer break, cementing their status as elite drivers on the grid.

While Norris took an emotional win in Miami after a five-year wait, Piastri’s breakthrough win in Hungary came after Norris was handed the lead during a round of pitstops and only returned the position to the Australian at the very end, with a much-delayed position swap which took some of the shine away from Piastri’s triumph.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38, go three wide into the first corner

Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images

Norris showed regret for not returning the position earlier and the matter was addressed internally, but it was a first glimpse of just how uncomfortable things might get in the future if McLaren continues to have a car capable of securing more 1-2 wins.

Speaking exclusively to Motorsport.com, Brown is adamant that McLaren’s team culture is strong enough to survive Norris and Piastri going toe to toe with each other, even if his own team’s history books are full of cautionary tales.

When asked why he believes having equal number ones will work out this time for McLaren, Brown replied: “Relationships, communication, and the two individuals that we have.

“I mean, make no mistake about it. They both want to be number ones and they are both number ones. We just don’t have any number twos.

“But they race for the team. They’re the types of individuals I think can race each other hard and be number one in their own mind and respect the fact that we run two number one cars. And we always have and always will.”

Brown didn’t rule out favouring one driver over the other once there is a drivers’ championship on the line, but with Norris trailing Max Verstappen by 78 points, and Piastri another 32 points in arrears, that time hasn’t come yet for McLaren.

“Obviously, if you get later into the championship and one driver has more of a shot than another, then you might start looking at things that you do strategically differently,” he acknowledged.

Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team, 3rd position, Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, the McLaren team celebrate after the race

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

“But we treat them equally. They know that, they enjoy that, and they respect our decisions when we sometimes need to make some concessions. They’re very respectful of that. So I think we’re fortunate and lucky to have the two individuals that we have.”

Asked if managing Norris and Piastri will be the strongest test yet of the team culture that he and team principal Andrea Stella are trying to build, he said: “I think cultures kind of build themselves. You set the direction and tone, but then you can’t force it.

“Andrea and I, and everyone here, we’re racers. We’re fair, we’re pretty aggressive in our pursuit for performance. But in a fair, not win-at-all-costs way.

“I think that’s how the team is as well, so it’s a great garage environment.”